A Pure Heart
by The Raccoon Goon
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Stu was known as a loser to his neighbors and classmates. Nobody expected him to ever do anything great with his life. When one day he has the opportunity to revive the power of nature on a far-off island, he is taken on the greatest adventure of his young life.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay class," my homeroom teacher said. "Today in advisory we will be doing SSR." (1)

It seemed as if the whole class groaned except for me. Unlike my classmates, I enjoyed SSR. It's much more enjoyable than that CPR an anti-bullying crap. None of it worked, I would know.

I reached inside my desk to find that my mint-condition _Breaking Dawn_ book was not there! I silently cursed myself for staying up past midnight rereading it. It must have still been on my bed.

I looked around and saw that Dakota didn't have a book either. We spent the rest of "advisory" glancing across the room at each other. The two of us walked to first period together until we reached Dakota's math class. She put her hand on my shoulder and said, "I'll see ya at lunch, Stu."

I smiled at her and said, "Yeah, see you."

_Am I blushing? _I put my hand on my cheek. _Definitely blushing. Did she see it? Oh, I hope she didn't notice._

* * *

My classes dragged on, boring and uneventful, until lunchtime. Lunch was probably my favorite time of the day. I got to read and be with my friends – well, _friend_ – without anyone bothering me. Recess, however, was a whole different story.

As much as I would try to hide, that idiot Heath and his cronies would always find me in the recess yard and make fun of me, sometimes even throwing trash at me. Today they had decided to call me a wimp (yes, that really is the best they could come up with) and gay. Although I am not gay myself, I never quite understood why being accused of homosexuality was such an insult in modern society.

Later that day while walking to my next class, those imbeciles approached me yet again. They were back for more. One of them tripped me, and the rest of the dunderheads each kicked me and insulted me as they walked by. Last came the head cretin himself, Heath. _Oh, where's Dakota when you need her?_ I thought. By the time I had gotten myself back on my feet, Heath had shoved me into a wall. Luckily, this wall was conveniently next to a fire extinguisher.

I moved my head in a manner that would make it appear that I had hit the extinguisher without actually injuring myself. I grabbed my head and sniffled, quietly saying "ow" several times. I forced myself to cry and I ran to the nurse's office. Everyone around was laughing at me as I dashed off. Cries like Heath's signature "You're a loser, Stu!" could be heard throughout the hallway. I stayed in the office faking a head injury until my next class was over. No gym for me! What's that, you ask? Dignity? I have no dignity.

* * *

Nobody greeted me – or acknowledged me, for that matter – when I came home that day. Father wasn't home and my sister was too busy texting somebody, either her boyfriend or one of her many other friends. My mother was absent from the room, an unusual occurrence. She was almost always in the living room/kitchen area doing something, whether it's making herself some herbal tea or having odd conversations on the telephone with an old friend about someone referred to as "Soup Guy". I was curious to see where she was.

"Where's Mother?" I asked my sister.

She deigned no reply.

I asked her once again. "Cheyenne, where is Mother?"

She still wasn't paying attention to me.

"Thanks for the help, Cheyenne," I muttered sarcastically.

I eventually found Mother in her bedroom. She was sitting on her bed looking rather depressed. Finn, her Harvest Sprite companion, tried to get closer to her, but she swatted him away. When he saw me, he shook his head as if to tell me just to leave her alone.

I ignored the sprite's advice. "Mother," I said. "Is there anything wrong?"

She sighed and then said, "Oh, it's nothing…"

I gave her an doubtful look.

"Okay, okay, it's not nothing. It's just that the Harvest King has been really moody lately. Something's up, and I don't know what. I don't know if this has something to do with it, but lately I've been feeling like nature is off-balance. Not here, though. Castanet is fine. The Harvest Tree is thriving and everything is okay. It's somewhere else… somewhere near, but not in Castanet," she explained.

I tried to think of something to say to her. "Um, perhaps you should talk to the Harvest King," I suggested.

She shook her head. "The Harvest King is not a very friendly person to begin with, and he is not to be bothered in the mood he's in now."

"But if you never try, you'll never know," I said with a smirk.

She smiled at me. "Okay, you got me with the Coldplay quote. I'll go talk to him. But if I go up to the top of that mountain and am never to be seen again, it's your fault." Mother got up and walked out the door.

"Wait!" I exclaimed.

She stopped and turned to face me. "What is it?"

"I want to come with you," I told her.

* * *

Please excuse my crude footnotes, it's the best I can do.

1 - Most of this chapter was set in Stu's fictional school. If you want to consider this the weird, out-of-place school in _Animal Parade_, be my guest. I don't want to say it's _based_ on my school, but it kind of references it, mainly because I wrote this while I was bored in homeroom because we had to do SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) and I didn't have a book, and because my original demographic was the kids that go to a writing club at my school (well, it _used_ to be hosted by my school, but that's a tale for another day). To clarify, advisory is the fancy name for homeroom in my school. We have a rotating schedule of activities we're supposed to do in "advisory", including reading, lessons on anti-bullying, and CPR. Contrary to what you may think (and what I thought when we first started the advisory program), CPR has nothing to do with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CPR stands for Circle of Power and Respect, and from there you can see why Stu deems it as "crap."

**A/N: Allow me to take this opportunity to thank you for deciding to read my story! Yay! I'm very confident that this story will _not_ just sizzle away and that it will be completed! This is probably the first real piece I've uploaded here on , the rest is kind of just goofy stuff. So I really appreciate you reading this and reviews are encouraged.****  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure, Stu?" Mother asked. "We're talking about a highly irritable god here."

I nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

With that, we left the house. Right before we made it out the front door, Cheyenne inquired as to where we were going. We told her that we were going to see the Harvest King. She asked if she could come with us since she had nothing better to do and we let her. Why the heck not?

"What do you want?" the Harvest King said once we arrived at his dwelling on the mountaintop. "I'm busy."

"Harvest King," Mother addressed him. "Is there something going on? I feel like something's wrong."

"No, no, nothing's wrong. Foolish human. Must be your time of the month. Have you checked the calendar lately?"

Mother gave the Harvest King the same look I gave her earlier that day.

"Alright, if you must know, there is a small island just east of this land called Waffle Island. Similar to what it was like here, the power of nature is very weak there. The only way to restore balance to Waffle Island is to plant a Goddess Tree Seedling there. Then a Mother Tree will grow, quite similar to what we've got going on here. The problem is that not just anyone can bring this seed to the island. It must be brought by one with a pure heart," the King explained.

"I will go," Mother said.

"Shannon –" the Harvest King said.

Mother cut him off. "I've done it once, I'll do it again. I'll drop everything and go to this island. I'll pack up my family and move. If they don't want to come with me, then I'll leave the kids here with Julius."

"Shannon, you're being irrational. And anyway, you've already saved this land. We have to reward you somehow for all you've done for Castanet. You can settle down now and enjoy life," the Harvest King answered.

"But I _have_ enjoyed life!" Mother replied. "After the Harvest Tree was saved, I got to spend more time with my husband. I watched my daughter grow up. Since then, I've even had a son!"

"Shannon, you are not going to Waffle Island and that's final!" the Harvest King shouted. I must admit, it was pretty scary. I understood why Mother didn't want to come here at first.

Mother was obviously startled by the King's reaction. "Okay, fine, I won't go…" she said quietly.

"So back to the matter at hand," the Harvest King said. "We need someone with a pure heart to go to Waffle Island."

"Ooh, do I have a pure heart?" Cheyenne asked.

"How old are you again?" he asked.

"Fifteen," she responded.

"And are you still a virgin?"

"Um… no."

The Harvest King did not need to say anything more.

At that moment, it hit me. I was tired of being a loser; I didn't want to be some no-life who's gained a reputation of scorn and shame! It was about time I got some respect, and some dignity, too!

"I'll do it," I said in a firm tone of voice.

Everyone gasped.

"Stu, what are you talking about?" said my appalled mother.

"I'm going to take the Goddess Seedling to Waffle Island," I told her.

"No you're not! I won't allow it!" Mother stated.

"You're crazy, Stu!" Cheyenne exclaimed.

"Shh," replied the Harvest King. "Maybe sending Stu is a good idea."

"Are you insane?!" Mother shouted. "He's thirteen! He's not even in high school yet! I'm not sure if this is even legal!"

"I assure you that no government officials are going to disagree with the Harvest Goddess," the Harvest King said.

"Even so, this is not going to happen!"

I turned to my mother. "Mother, I have to do this. The people of Waffle Island need me," I said to her.

She crossed her arms and frowned at me. "But honey, how am I supposed to let you do this? What kind of mother would I be if I allowed this to happen?"

"An excellent mother," I answered. "I _want_ to do this. You should be encouraging me. I have to save this island, and I need your support to do it."

"Yeah Mom, just let him go," Cheyenne chimed in.

"Quiet you, this isn't your decision," Mother said to her.

Mother took some time to think it over. Eventually, she agreed to it. Her only condition was that I had to wait a few more years, until I was at least sixteen.

Father, of course, was not happy about what I had agreed to do. He completely flipped out and was sent to his room to calm down for a bit. We didn't see him until dinner, and even then he was silent.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is very dialogue-based, and I'm not too happy about that. However, couldn't figure out a way to effectively edit it, so I left it as-is. **

**If you took the time to look at my profile (although you probably didn't), you may notice that my name is Shannon and that is the same name as Stu's mother. I'M SORRY DON'T HATE ME SHE'S NOT A MARY-SUE! This story, if you didn't figure it out already, is the story of the New Game+ with my in-game son but more in-depth than the game provides. So therefore the mother gets the name I chose for the main character of the game, and that was my own name. Although she may seem a little Sueish in this chapter, I swear she won't be in the overall story. The focus is of this story is on Stu, not Shannon, not Dakota, not Cheyenne (now that I think about it, Cheyenne is probably be the most minor character I've introduced so far), not any other character except for Stu, and maybe Finn a little bit. Just thought I'd say that.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Mother and I spoke to the Harvest Goddess about the king's plan. Mother was sure to mention that I wasn't to leave until I was older. "That's fine," the Harvest Goddess replied. "It'll take a while until to get everything we need, anyway." That confused me at first. It's just a seed! How long would it take to get my hands on it?

Apparently it would take a while because I wasn't just _planting_ the seed, I was _making _it.

In order to create the Goddess Tree Seed, I needed to obtain "Nature's Bounty." What is Nature's Bounty, you ask? That's what I asked. No one else seemed to know, so I had to ask the Harvest Sprites. Each of them put their two cents in on what they thought Nature's Bounty encompasses. Alan said a diamond, Ben suggested a King Salmon, Collin said a shining honeydew, Darren believed that cheesecake was part of Nature's Bounty (I think he just wanted to go back to bed), and Edge told me that lunches are nice.

I guess what the sprites say goes around here, because no one disputed their suggestions (not even the cheesecake) and we all just accepted it as fact. I was instructed to start working to acquire this stuff immediately. Upon receiving this order, I created a logical, easy-to-follow, six-step plan to get everything I needed.

1. Get Cheyenne's boyfriend, Roy, to teach me how to mine like a pro, then find a diamond.

2. Learn how to fish and practice fishing. Eventually catch King Salmon.

3. By that time it should be summer. Get some land from Mother and grow honeydew.

4. Gather the ingredients needed to make cheesecake. Since learning to cook would be far too dangerous (I'd rather not set the house on fire), I'll just ask Dakota to make the cake with what I supply her with.

5. Ask Father to make me lunch the way he makes it for Mother.

6. Plant the seed, save the island, and be a loser no more!


	4. Chapter 4

After an ample amount of (flirtatious) persuasion from Cheyenne, Roy agreed to reveal to me his trade secrets. Three days after speaking to the sprites, I was ready to put my plan into action.

I woke up before the sun had fully risen, eager to get going with my training. "Mother, I'm going to meet with Roy!" I shouted as I bolted out of the house.

"Not before you tend to the coop," Mother replied while making herself herbal tea.

"But Mother, this is about the seed!" I cried.

"Fine," Mother answered with a smirk. "I'll go easy on you. Just collect the cocoons from the silkworms."

I moaned and exited the house. As I walked through the door, I muttered, "I'm your son, not your slave."

I swear those silkworms were out to foil my plans that morning. Only Guy was well-behaved. I lifted a sleeping Will up to get the cocoon from under him, and he woke up and bit me. Next I had to get a cocoon from Jonny, which was always a disgrace. He and Chris were inseparable. "Come on, Jonny, I have things to do," I said as I tried to pull him off of Chris. Jonny clung to Chris as tightly as a silkworm could. I yanked and yanked hard enough that I probably could have killed the little guy. Fortunately, I eventually managed to gain access to Jonny's rear (to get his entire body off of Chris was close to impossible) while keeping the worm's body intact. After that experience, putting up with fussy Chris was a breeze.

I bolted out of the coop as soon as I had retrieved all four cocoons, leaving them on the creaky wooden floor. I sprinted all the way to the Garmon Mines where Roy was waiting for me.

"You're late," he said upon my arrival.

I apologized, speaking quickly and stopping to catch my breath. "I'm sorry; my mother had me collect cocoons from the silkworms, and one of them bit me, and another one wouldn't let go of the other, and –"

Roy cut me off. "Enough," he said. "A good miner always starts bright and early, as to get the best minerals before anyone else does, and to obtain the maximum amount of mining time."

I nodded. "Yes, but I –"

"I don't need to hear your excuses," Roy stated harshly. He turned around, hammer in hand, to face the entrance to the mine. "Now before we can begin, how much experience do you have with the fine art of mining?"

"Um, well, I, um, smash the boulders that gather in the empty plot during winter once in a blue moon," I answered.

"That is _pathetic_! That doesn't even count as mining!" Roy shouted, slamming his hammer on the ground in front of me. "You just _soiled_ the good name of mining with that disgusting answer! Soiled it!"

"I-I-I'm sorry," I stammered. "So, so sorry."

Roy hollered "Silence!" and thrust an old hammer into my hands. He walked around me in circles. "Now position your hammer as if you are about to hit a rock," he instructed.

I raised my hammer accordingly.

"Pathetic!" he yelled. "You know nothing of mining! You don't even know how to properly hold a hammer!"

I spent the following six hours of my life learning how to properly hold a hammer and hit a rock. I shuffled home exhausted, my arms in so much pain I could barely lift them. Cheyenne greeted me as I stumbled into the house, asking me how it went. I responded with "I cannot understand why you are dating that man on any level," and went straight to bed, too tired to even reread _New Moon_.


End file.
